15 June 2021 This page is no longer being updated
Oxford City Council's website gives a clear explanation of the overall planning structure, the Adopted Development Plan Framework, and how different elements, including the Local Plan, fit into it. Hearing Sessions for the examination of the soundness of the Oxford Local Plan 2036 began on Tuesday 3rd December 2019 at the King's Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0ES, and closed on 19 December 2019.
ADOPTION OF OXFORD LOCAL PLAN 2036 at Full Council Meeting on 8 June 2020
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Oxford Local Plan, 2016-2036 - submission and examination
On 22 March 2019, Oxford City Council submitted the Oxford Local Plan 2036 and supporting documents to the Secretary of State, for independent examination. The whole of the evidence base/ examination library (including all previous documents published) is available online at the City Council’s website www.oxford.gov.uk/localplan
Summary of matters to be considered produced by the Inspectors, Jonathan Bore and Nick Fagan, dated 15 October 2019.
Available downloads
__________________________________________________________________________
A report submitted by Patsy Dell, Oxford City Council's Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services, on the Oxford Local Plan 2036 Proposed Submission Document was presented to a Full Council meeting in Oxford Town Hall on Wednesday, 17 Oct 2018. The Council approved the document for public consultation. The formal 6-week public consultation on the Local Plan Proposed Submission Document ran from 1 November to 13 December 2018.
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Oxford Core Strategy 2026 adopted 14 March 2011
Adopted 14 March 2011, the Core Strategy 'contains policies against which all planning applications are judged' and remains in place as part of the Oxford Local Plan 2001-2016 until the new Local Plan 2016-2036 is adopted. For notes on some sessions of the 2026 Core Strategy hearings (2009 to 2011), click here
The Headington Neighbourhood Plan was given the go-ahead following a referendum held at the same time as the County Council elections on 4 May 2017. The turnout was 38%. The responses to the question: 'Do you want Oxford City Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Headington to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?' were
Yes: 3,310 (86%) No: 543 (14%) Spoilt or blank papers: 322
The plan was given final approval at a full meeting of Oxford City Council on 20 July 2017.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Consultations on the Local Plan
The 'Final Consultation' on a draft plan took place between 1 November and 13 December 2018. Comments were considered and minor amendments made before the proposed Plan was submitted to the Government for examination on 22 March 2019.
The 'Preferred Options Consultation' ran from 30 June to 29 August 2017 - related documents:
Appendix 1 Preferred Options (pdf - 170 pages)
Recommended Sites (potential sites for development)
Rejected sites
The City Council's 'First Steps' Consultation was carried out in July-August 2016.
See also notes below on meetings:
Oxford City Council's website gives a clear explanation of the overall planning structure, the Adopted Development Plan Framework, and how different elements, including the Local Plan, fit into it. Hearing Sessions for the examination of the soundness of the Oxford Local Plan 2036 began on Tuesday 3rd December 2019 at the King's Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0ES, and closed on 19 December 2019.
ADOPTION OF OXFORD LOCAL PLAN 2036 at Full Council Meeting on 8 June 2020
__________________________________________________________________________
Oxford Local Plan, 2016-2036 - submission and examination
On 22 March 2019, Oxford City Council submitted the Oxford Local Plan 2036 and supporting documents to the Secretary of State, for independent examination. The whole of the evidence base/ examination library (including all previous documents published) is available online at the City Council’s website www.oxford.gov.uk/localplan
Summary of matters to be considered produced by the Inspectors, Jonathan Bore and Nick Fagan, dated 15 October 2019.
Available downloads
__________________________________________________________________________
A report submitted by Patsy Dell, Oxford City Council's Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services, on the Oxford Local Plan 2036 Proposed Submission Document was presented to a Full Council meeting in Oxford Town Hall on Wednesday, 17 Oct 2018. The Council approved the document for public consultation. The formal 6-week public consultation on the Local Plan Proposed Submission Document ran from 1 November to 13 December 2018.
___________________________________________________________________________
Oxford Core Strategy 2026 adopted 14 March 2011
Adopted 14 March 2011, the Core Strategy 'contains policies against which all planning applications are judged' and remains in place as part of the Oxford Local Plan 2001-2016 until the new Local Plan 2016-2036 is adopted. For notes on some sessions of the 2026 Core Strategy hearings (2009 to 2011), click here
The Headington Neighbourhood Plan was given the go-ahead following a referendum held at the same time as the County Council elections on 4 May 2017. The turnout was 38%. The responses to the question: 'Do you want Oxford City Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Headington to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?' were
Yes: 3,310 (86%) No: 543 (14%) Spoilt or blank papers: 322
The plan was given final approval at a full meeting of Oxford City Council on 20 July 2017.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Consultations on the Local Plan
The 'Final Consultation' on a draft plan took place between 1 November and 13 December 2018. Comments were considered and minor amendments made before the proposed Plan was submitted to the Government for examination on 22 March 2019.
The 'Preferred Options Consultation' ran from 30 June to 29 August 2017 - related documents:
Appendix 1 Preferred Options (pdf - 170 pages)
Recommended Sites (potential sites for development)
Rejected sites
The City Council's 'First Steps' Consultation was carried out in July-August 2016.
See also notes below on meetings:
18 October 2017:
At a meeting of Oxford City Council Planning Service Users’ Group (Residents and Community Groups) in Oxford Town Hall on 18 October 2017, Mr Mark Jaggard (MJ), Oxford City Council’s Planning Policy and Design, Heritage and Trees Manager, said that responses to the Preferred Options Consultation generally had ranged between strongly agreeing and neutral. Mr Tony Joyce (former Chairman of Oxford Civic Society) expressed surprise at that and said he knew many objections had been submitted, so some opposition must have been ‘quietly lost’ by the Council. MJ explained that he had been referring only to responses received via the printed short questionnaire and not to any submitted on line, by email or by letter. With regard to the opposition expressed via the online questionnaire, email or letter he said the Council would give this due consideration – “We need to reflect on that”
The City Council hopes to produce a summary of responses by the end of October
Effects of ‘huge growth’ – housing need – air pollution
MJ said that what had to be considered was what was the right capacity of the city and how much housing could be built without it suffering a deterioration. The ‘huge growth’ foreseen will put pressure on traffic and transport. He referred to the current consultation on the joint proposal by the City and County Councils to introduce a Zero Emission Zone in Oxford city centre with the aim of achieving a substantial reduction in air pollution. A related 6-week public consultation ends on 26 November 2017 (that consultation page contains a link to a questionnaire).
See also Daily Telegraph article, 11 October 2017.
Oxford’s need for housing (over and above what exists already and in addition to developments already planned that are certain to go ahead) cannot be met within the city’s boundaries. It is proposed that delivery of the number of dwellings required per annum (2011-2036) be divided between all Oxfordshire authorities as follows: Oxford 550, Cherwell 4,400, West Oxford 2,750, South Oxford 4,950, Vale of White Horse 2,200.
In order to meet the demand, criteria used to assess the suitability of sites for development had to be reconsidered, for example, with regard to the maximum height of buildings, although what the Council had in mind were 4-6 storeys, not tower blocks. MJ acknowledged that there were concerns such development being detrimental to the city’s ‘heritage’ characteristics, including those expressed by Debbie Dance, Director of The Oxford Preservation Trust, but he felt that there was scope for having slightly higher buildings on the edges of the city, for example, in Summertown and he said that the Council ‘was not ruling out’ higher buildings in Conservation Areas.
28 June 2017:
At a Consultation Briefing Meeting on the Oxford Local Plan 2036 held at Oxford Town Hall Mr Jaggard said that the Council was ‘expecting huge growth and change over the next 20 years’.
At a meeting of the City Council's Planning Service Users Group (Residents & Community Groups) held at the Town Hall on 18 January 2017, Patsy Dell, Head of Oxford City Council's Planning & Regulatory Services, said "Growth is needed ... The Local Plan is predicated on the city growing - growth is an assumption".
'Oxford's population is expected to grow by 20 per cent over the next 20 years' - Oxford City Council website, posted 20 July 2016)
At the Consultation Briefing Meeting about the Local Plan held on 28 June 2017, Mr Jaggard said the ambition was to create ‘a diverse and cohesive community’ and ‘a sense of civic pride’ and to support the city’s economic development (46,000 people commute into Oxford to work). Some of the key aims were to:
[1] Mr Jaggard confirmed that any planning application submitted by an existing language school/independent college before the new Local Plan was actually adopted (2018) would not be affected by the new restrictions.
[2] Opened in September 2017 (Oxford Times article, 23 June 2017). Up to 120 nurses and midwives currently graduate from Oxford Brookes every year and by the end of 2017/18 this is set to rise to 250.
As regards site allocation, Sarah Harrison, the City Council’s Principal Planner, said the City Council would continue to use Area Action Plans – Northern Gateway, Barton and the West End - and they were ‘expecting to see more intensive development on sites already developed’.
Planners were ‘not proposing tall blocks’ but neither would a strict height limit be imposed. Instead, there would be ‘a set of criteria for assessing the impacts on Oxford’s skyline’ and developers would be required to use the Oxford Character Assessment Toolkit. Debbie Dance (Oxford Preservation Trust) asked what the City Council’s definition of a ‘tall building’ was. An application for planning consent (16/03006/FUL) for a 15-storey building in Templars Square was due to be considered by the East Area Planning Committee the following week (planning consent was given). Sarah Harrison said 5 or 6 storeys but some development would be able to go above that limit – ‘it is more about how well designed it is’. (See BBC News website, 6 July 2017, re Templars Square, Cowley)
Sarah Harrison also referred to the 380 hectares of nationally important wildlife sites within the city boundaries and the aim to create ‘a network of multifunctional green spaces’, to enhance green spaces and ensure they are rich in biodiversity. She mentioned the requirement to install bird and bat boxes in some developments. The city’s view cones will be respected
Mark Jaggard felt purpose-built HMOs a good solution for housing young professionals – eg teachers and nurses - and that HMOs were not a problem, if licensed and managed properly. On being asked where these new HMOs would be built, MJ said there was no policy for restricting development in previously-developed areas - design and quality would have to be considered.
In response to a query from a resident about what outlying boroughs would be contributing in the way of development sites, he said a lot of work had been done with neighbouring districts through the Oxfordshire Growth Board [3]. Cherwell, for example, has suggested sites north of Banbury, and West Oxfordshire has put forward suggestions.
[3] See article: ‘Oxford City, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire submit alternative plans for local government’ , 27 June 2017, published by Oxford Civic Society: ‘Instead of the single unitary organisation favoured by the County, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District, the counter-proposals put a case for a Combined Authority, with the four districts, the City and the Oxfordshire LEP working through a strengthened Oxfordshire Growth Board’.
Mr Jaggard said that in order to reduce private car use ‘Low parking standards’ would be set for new homes but there had to be ‘attractive public transport routes’. Cycle routes across parks could be considered.
At a meeting of Oxford City Council Planning Service Users’ Group (Residents and Community Groups) in Oxford Town Hall on 18 October 2017, Mr Mark Jaggard (MJ), Oxford City Council’s Planning Policy and Design, Heritage and Trees Manager, said that responses to the Preferred Options Consultation generally had ranged between strongly agreeing and neutral. Mr Tony Joyce (former Chairman of Oxford Civic Society) expressed surprise at that and said he knew many objections had been submitted, so some opposition must have been ‘quietly lost’ by the Council. MJ explained that he had been referring only to responses received via the printed short questionnaire and not to any submitted on line, by email or by letter. With regard to the opposition expressed via the online questionnaire, email or letter he said the Council would give this due consideration – “We need to reflect on that”
The City Council hopes to produce a summary of responses by the end of October
Effects of ‘huge growth’ – housing need – air pollution
MJ said that what had to be considered was what was the right capacity of the city and how much housing could be built without it suffering a deterioration. The ‘huge growth’ foreseen will put pressure on traffic and transport. He referred to the current consultation on the joint proposal by the City and County Councils to introduce a Zero Emission Zone in Oxford city centre with the aim of achieving a substantial reduction in air pollution. A related 6-week public consultation ends on 26 November 2017 (that consultation page contains a link to a questionnaire).
See also Daily Telegraph article, 11 October 2017.
Oxford’s need for housing (over and above what exists already and in addition to developments already planned that are certain to go ahead) cannot be met within the city’s boundaries. It is proposed that delivery of the number of dwellings required per annum (2011-2036) be divided between all Oxfordshire authorities as follows: Oxford 550, Cherwell 4,400, West Oxford 2,750, South Oxford 4,950, Vale of White Horse 2,200.
In order to meet the demand, criteria used to assess the suitability of sites for development had to be reconsidered, for example, with regard to the maximum height of buildings, although what the Council had in mind were 4-6 storeys, not tower blocks. MJ acknowledged that there were concerns such development being detrimental to the city’s ‘heritage’ characteristics, including those expressed by Debbie Dance, Director of The Oxford Preservation Trust, but he felt that there was scope for having slightly higher buildings on the edges of the city, for example, in Summertown and he said that the Council ‘was not ruling out’ higher buildings in Conservation Areas.
28 June 2017:
At a Consultation Briefing Meeting on the Oxford Local Plan 2036 held at Oxford Town Hall Mr Jaggard said that the Council was ‘expecting huge growth and change over the next 20 years’.
At a meeting of the City Council's Planning Service Users Group (Residents & Community Groups) held at the Town Hall on 18 January 2017, Patsy Dell, Head of Oxford City Council's Planning & Regulatory Services, said "Growth is needed ... The Local Plan is predicated on the city growing - growth is an assumption".
'Oxford's population is expected to grow by 20 per cent over the next 20 years' - Oxford City Council website, posted 20 July 2016)
At the Consultation Briefing Meeting about the Local Plan held on 28 June 2017, Mr Jaggard said the ambition was to create ‘a diverse and cohesive community’ and ‘a sense of civic pride’ and to support the city’s economic development (46,000 people commute into Oxford to work). Some of the key aims were to:
- Protect key employment sites, for example, the hospitals, university research, BMW, Unipart, Oxford Science Park. Permitted development on employment sites may include housing for employees.
- Provide opportunities for local firms to bid for work on larger projects, such as the Northern Gateway, Barton and the West End.
- Restrict the expansion of existing language schools, summer schools and independent colleges for over 16s and to ‘Discourage new entrants to the sector [1]’
- Limit new student accommodation to existing and already allocated sites and city and district centres.
- ‘Reset’ the target for students occupying accommodation other than that provided by the universities. There are to be different targets for the two universities. The current target for Oxford Brookes is 3,000, which would rise, based on existing restrictions, to 3,500 once Brookes opens its new Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery[2]. The permitted number in private rented accommodation will reduce over the period of the Local Plan (which will remain in force up to 2036) and only students on full-time taught degree courses will be eligible to live in such accommodation.
"At the 2011 Census, 24% of the city's adult population was a full-time student (30,000 people) – the highest proportion in England and Wales. Around one-third of full-time students were born outside the UK. Oxford's student population is so large, its out of term population (where students and school children are at their “home” address) is 10% below its usually resident population. Of the 30,000 full-time adult students who lived in Oxford at the 2011 Census, just over half lived in communal establishments such as halls of residence. 7,500 lived in all-student households, whilst the rest lived alone, with their parents, or with other non-students. Between 2001 and 2011 the number of full-time students increased by 6,000, and the majority of this increase was accommodated in halls of residence". From Oxford City Council website - Population - Students in Oxford
[1] Mr Jaggard confirmed that any planning application submitted by an existing language school/independent college before the new Local Plan was actually adopted (2018) would not be affected by the new restrictions.
[2] Opened in September 2017 (Oxford Times article, 23 June 2017). Up to 120 nurses and midwives currently graduate from Oxford Brookes every year and by the end of 2017/18 this is set to rise to 250.
As regards site allocation, Sarah Harrison, the City Council’s Principal Planner, said the City Council would continue to use Area Action Plans – Northern Gateway, Barton and the West End - and they were ‘expecting to see more intensive development on sites already developed’.
Planners were ‘not proposing tall blocks’ but neither would a strict height limit be imposed. Instead, there would be ‘a set of criteria for assessing the impacts on Oxford’s skyline’ and developers would be required to use the Oxford Character Assessment Toolkit. Debbie Dance (Oxford Preservation Trust) asked what the City Council’s definition of a ‘tall building’ was. An application for planning consent (16/03006/FUL) for a 15-storey building in Templars Square was due to be considered by the East Area Planning Committee the following week (planning consent was given). Sarah Harrison said 5 or 6 storeys but some development would be able to go above that limit – ‘it is more about how well designed it is’. (See BBC News website, 6 July 2017, re Templars Square, Cowley)
Sarah Harrison also referred to the 380 hectares of nationally important wildlife sites within the city boundaries and the aim to create ‘a network of multifunctional green spaces’, to enhance green spaces and ensure they are rich in biodiversity. She mentioned the requirement to install bird and bat boxes in some developments. The city’s view cones will be respected
Mark Jaggard felt purpose-built HMOs a good solution for housing young professionals – eg teachers and nurses - and that HMOs were not a problem, if licensed and managed properly. On being asked where these new HMOs would be built, MJ said there was no policy for restricting development in previously-developed areas - design and quality would have to be considered.
In response to a query from a resident about what outlying boroughs would be contributing in the way of development sites, he said a lot of work had been done with neighbouring districts through the Oxfordshire Growth Board [3]. Cherwell, for example, has suggested sites north of Banbury, and West Oxfordshire has put forward suggestions.
[3] See article: ‘Oxford City, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire submit alternative plans for local government’ , 27 June 2017, published by Oxford Civic Society: ‘Instead of the single unitary organisation favoured by the County, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District, the counter-proposals put a case for a Combined Authority, with the four districts, the City and the Oxfordshire LEP working through a strengthened Oxfordshire Growth Board’.
Mr Jaggard said that in order to reduce private car use ‘Low parking standards’ would be set for new homes but there had to be ‘attractive public transport routes’. Cycle routes across parks could be considered.